A Serious Mission
by Lara Zed
Summary: After end of the war, Ginny's life isn't what she imagined. And when Sirius is brought back from the dead, neither is his. Post-DH, not epilogue compliant. Challenge from worldsapart!
1. Part One: Flatmates with a Fatality

A/N: This is the first part of a challenge I received from the wonderfully talented fanfic author, worldsapart. I won't reveal the terms of the challenge until the last part, so nothing is spoiled. I hope you like this, it's a totally new ship for me to write, and I'm doing my best! Please please R&R!

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Part One: Flatmates with a Fatality

Ginny Weasley cracked her knuckles loudly as her fourth-year Hufflepuff students headed toward the door of her Transfiguration class.

"Don't forget to read chapters five and six!" she reminded them sharply, as they were filing out. "You're going to be tested on that material next class!" She could hear several of them groan, but didn't care. She was strict, but knew the students still thought reasonably well of her, particularly as she was now the youngest professor in the Hogwarts faculty.

She remained in her seat several minutes after her students left, stretching backwards and just thinking to herself. There was one more period left in the school day, but the fourth-year Hufflepuffs had been her last one to teach for the day. She chose the quiet moment to just allow her mind to relax for a bit, drumming her fingers on the desk until she remembered the letters in the pockets of her robes.

Two owls had arrived over breakfast, each bearing their own letter, but she never liked reading her mail in front of others and had placed them aside to wait for an opportunity to be alone. Finding that opportunity now, she pulled them out of her pocket and examined the two scrolls.

Ginny immediately recognized both sets of handwriting. Pulling the first scroll open, she read the untidy scrawl:

_Ginny,_

_So how is it to be back at Hogwarts? Sorry I haven't written for a while, I just figured I'd let you get comfortable first. _

_The shop is doing really well, of course. Completely raking in the Galleons. George is still having a real rough go of it, but I think he's starting to do a bit better. He's drinking Firewhisky less often, and has actually started going out once every couple of weeks. He and Angelina talk a lot, too. I think that they are comforting each other, but I'm starting to get the feeling that's not all there is to it._

_But if things keep getting better for him, I might stop working here. Well, not full-time, anyway. I was thinking about trying to get accepted for Auror training like_ (the next two words were clumsily scratched out) _Harry and I used to talk about. So we'll see._

_That's all I really have for an update. Nothing else new - except Mum is fussing over Victoire so much, I think Fleur is going to need a restraining order!_

_Talk soon,_

_Ron_

The hasty striking out of Harry's name didn't go unnoticed by Ginny, as much as Ron appeared to have attempted to black it out entirely. She sighed. She felt sorrier for Ron than she did for herself, if she was to be perfectly honest. Maybe she wasn't moving on, but she wasn't just choosing to put the pain out of her mind, to forget that they were ever hurt. And yes, it still did hurt, but she believed it was better that way.

Glancing at the small, neat, perfectly even script on the second letter, she reluctantly unrolled the scroll and started to read. It began in the same way the writer was now always beginning her letters to Ginny:

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm sure you aren't going to write back to me, as you have yet to respond to any of my previous letters, but as I specified to you some time ago, I still wish for contact with you of some sort, even if it has to be one-sided. And as I say every time, and will most certainly continue to, I am aware that this is extremely selfish on my part, and also that I know I do not deserve to even have these wishes. Such is my flaw, and I am sorry to inflict that upon you._

The middle part of her letters always contained personal news and updates:

_I wanted to write you to tell you that we have achieved an important breakthrough very recently! After months and months of hard work done entirely in secret, we have achieved success! I wish I could tell you more, but cannot due to risks of owl interception. But I know you will learn of the results soon._

Ginny let out an annoyed grunt. This part of the letter was consistently vague at best, and she wondered to herself why she wasted her time reading the letters in the first place. They were uninformative, and terribly predictable. The last part would always read the same, too:

_Please know that Harry and I never intended to hurt you or Ron. I am sorry that things happened the way they did, but I can't change the past, and there is no point to changing the present. The situation is as it is, and I hope one day you will be able to forgive me for hurting you and your brother._

_With Love Always,_

_Hermione_

Ginny re-rolled the first scroll, and placed it in her pocket. Her hands pausing only for a moment, she then proceeded to crumple the second scroll into a ball.

Leaning back in her chair again, she pulled out the pins that held up her hair and let it fall down into the long plait she now always kept it in. Playing with the end of the braid, she thought about when she first found out about Harry and Hermione how she had considered chopping off most of her hair. She was still glad that she changed her mind, realizing the very idea to be juvenile and pointless. But she still never wore it down any more.

Her morose thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the classroom door. She jumped, and turned around.

"Oh! Hello, Professor McGonagall," Ginny said, startled, and stood up. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Good afternoon, Professor Weasley," McGonagall answered. "May I have a moment of your time?"

Ginny's brow furrowed, but in amusement. "You still won't call me Ginny?" she asked.

McGonagall's mouth formed a tight line that was very nearly a smile. "I have told you before, Professor Weasley, that until you start calling me by my given name that I will not do the same for you. I may be your former teach and the current Headmistress, but I would like it if you could begin to think of us as colleagues," she replied.

"Okay, Mi_nerv_a," Ginny answered, suppressing giggles.

"Thank you, Ginevra," McGonagall responded with a wry smile of her own.

"Hey!" Ginny involuntarily exclaimed.

McGonagall cut her off before she could further object. "We just agreed to call each other by our _given_ names," she pointed out.

Ginny did her best not to sulk, as she was still vying to properly impress her new employer. "Fair point," she said. "What did you want to discuss?"

Despite the room being completely empty, McGonagall looked around, an intense expression on her face.

"Minerva?" Ginny urged her. "What is it?"

"This conversation would be better suited to my office. If you would care to follow me…?" McGonagall invited her. Ginny nodded and followed her lead out the classroom door.

* * *

Approaching the large statues guarding the Headmaster's office, McGonagall cleared her throat and muttered, "Albus." The statues stepped aside, and the two women entered the room.

"Please, have a seat," McGonagall indicated a chair to Ginny.

Ginny sat down obediently, still wondering what she had been called in for.

"As you are well aware, the Order of the Phoenix has still been secretly and continuously battling the Ministry of Magic since You-Know-Who's death," McGonagall started.

Ginny sat up a little straighter. It was indeed seldom that she was approached with Order business, and she was very interested.

"With Umbridge at the helm of the Ministry," McGonagall continued, a look of extreme distaste apparent in her expression, "this has not been easy. However, the victories we have obtained are still significant. Hogwarts, as you know, is now self-governed once again, after I spent the entirety of last year pushing the appeal through the Wizengamot. And we believe we are close to presenting information that will have our dear _Minister_," the disgusted look returned, "impeached."

Ginny nodded. She knew most of this, and was unsure of where this was going.

McGonagall coughed quietly. "The Order of the Phoenix is well aware not only of your abilities, but in your long-held interest in aiding us," she said. "I have asked you in to my office today to request your assistance with a current Order matter."

"Absolutely!" Ginny exclaimed, excitedly, before calming herself. "I mean, certainly, Minerva. I am happy to lend my assistance to the Order in any way possible."

McGonagall smiled. "I am glad to hear it," she answered. "And please know, Ginevra, that you will fully be considered an Order member upon your partaking in this task."

Ginny smiled widely. She had wanted to join the Order for a long time, now, but was always told she was too young, or inexperienced. Her eagerness was completely evident. "So what did you want me to do?" she asked.

"There has been a project worked upon in greatest secret by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Miss Granger that has at long last come into fruition," McGonagall said in a low voice, leaning forward.

"I guess you're going to let me in on her little 'breakthrough' she mentioned," Ginny replied.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you were still in contact with Miss Granger."

Ginny stiffened. "I'm not," she answered flatly.

Unsure of what to say, McGonagall continued with her speech. "A member of the Order has been obtained for us," she went on. "And every additional member is of great value to the Order. This is a strong and powerful ally, who will certainly assist us should a new battle break out. However, we cannot have him seen. By anyone, you must understand. It is far too dangerous for him and for us. This is where your assistance is required. With Hogwarts under self-governance once more, he can be safe-harboured here. We were hoping you could do so for us, Ginevra."

Ginny held her hands up. "Wow, um, okay, go back a couple of steps for me. I thought I was to be carrying out a mission for the Order?"

"This _is_ your mission, Ginevra," McGonagall affirmed gently.

"Well, that's _boring_," Ginny complained. "I thought I was going to get to really _work_ for the Order! Help with the research or the fight or something. I've been waiting for years, and I get to safe-harbour someone? That's it?"

"This is what we need you to do for us, Miss Weasley," McGonagall confirmed sternly.

Ginny looked surprised. "We're back to _Miss _Weasley, now? Not even _Professor_? What happened to Ginevra?" she asked.

"If you insist upon whining as a child might, then I must address you as I did when you were one," replied McGonagall, with a wry grin on her face. "Not every mission involves research or fighting, or battling it out with the courts or experimentation. And every step is equally important. We really do require your help. No one else can be trusted with the guarding of this individual at this time."

Ginny's brow furrowed. "And you know I can?" she asked.

McGonagall nodded. "Not one member of the Order has any doubt in your abilities or loyalties. I have already taken the liberty of expanding your living quarters, as well as adding an extra bed and private bathroom, in order to make this mission easier and more comfortable for the both of you."

Ginny grinned. Not only was she getting to do significant work for the Order, but she was getting a private bathroom as part of the deal. There was just something about McGonagall's choice of words that confused her.

"You know I'll be happy to do anything I can, Minerva. I just have one question – what do you mean that a member was 'obtained'? Don't you mean 'recruited'?" she asked.

McGonagall shook her head, and gestured to the corner of her office. Ginny turned around to see Sirius Black was sitting in a chair, blankly staring straight ahead.

Ginny whipped back around. "But… he's dead!" she blurted out. "How… what… I don't understand! The dead can't be brought back to life properly, Dumbledore said!"

"This is what Kingsley and Miss Granger have been working toward," McGonagall said firmly. "We had a very unusual situation in Sirius here. He was not dead when he fell through the veil in the Department of Mysteries, merely stunned. Never before has an individual passed through the archway separating life and death without actually… well, _dying_ first. We would certainly be unable to bring back other members of the Order. Remus, Nymphadora, Alastor Moody, your brother… they are all, most unfortunately, beyond our grasp," she finished sombrely.

Ginny turned around again, taking in a good look at Sirius. He was still blankly staring straight ahead, and hadn't said a word.

"Um… why is he just… staring? Can he still talk?" she queried.

"It has only been mere hours since the perilous rescue mission extracted him from the archway, and managed to secretly bring him all the way here from the Department of Mysteries," McGonagall answered. "We believe his mind is in a temporary state of shock. Poppy Pomfrey had a look at him; he should be fine soon enough."

Ginny walked over to where Sirius was sitting, and waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't flinch, he didn't even blink.

"You're sure?" asked Ginny, sceptically.

"Positive," McGonagall answered, through there seemed to be some uncertainty in her tone. "In the meantime, we must get him to your room. You two now share your sleeping quarters, and it will be your task to ensure he stays there until we are able to accommodate otherwise, or arrange for his safety if he is needed outside the castle. But unless I indicate otherwise to you, he _must not_ be seen wandering the castle or the grounds. You will keep his company, take care of him for now, and please, let him know how valuable he is to us, should you get the opportunity. And it is of paramount significance that you fill him in on everything that's happened since his disappearance when he comes to. He is likely to be very confused, potentially disorientated, so please, tell him everything while at the same time being as gentle as possible."

Ginny nodded. She knew to trust in what McGonagall said, and that she wouldn't refer to anything as 'Order business' unless it was of the utmost importance. "Shall I sneak him to my room now, while all the students are still in class?"

"That's the idea," McGonagall replied. "Thank you for your help, Ginevra. The whole Order thanks you. Now go on, before the last period ends!"

* * *

Ginny led Sirius back to their now-shared quarters in the castle, as quickly as possible. She held his wrist and gently pulled him through the castle hallways. He followed slowly, and with a heavy step, still blanking gazing ahead, and not saying a word. The trip back to her room seemed to take forever, and Ginny grew increasingly nervous as they went, worried that the last period would end, and students would suddenly pour into the halls and see the supposedly-dead criminal, Sirius Black.

When they reached her room, she breathed a deep sigh of relief, having managed to make it unseen the whole way. Ginny surveyed the room and saw that it indeed was bigger, and there was now an extra bed and an additional door, which she assumed led to the private bathroom that McGonagall had been talking about.

Suddenly, outside her door she could hear a great deal of movement and chatter.

"That was close," she breathed, and turned to Sirius. Unsure of what to say exactly to someone who didn't seem to be looking at or listening to anything in particular, she decided to do her best to treat him carefully. "You've had a very long day, I'm sure," she said. "You'll want to get some rest."

She took his wrist again and led him to the extra bed. As he just seemed to hang there, standing in front of it, she placed her hands on her shoulders and sat him down.

"I have to go get some dinner, so I'm heading to the Great Hall now… would you like me to bring you back anything?" she asked, fairly sure she knew what the answer would be.

She was right – there was no answer.

"Well, just relax here then," Ginny continued, as though he had in fact given her a proper answer. "I'm sure you'll get hungry soon enough, and when you do, I'll make sure the house elves fix something nice for you."

She moved to the door, apprehensively, as she was beginning to get deeply concerned for the man sitting on the bed, who at the moment seemed more like the shell of a man. What if Madam Pomfrey was mistaken, and there was something seriously wrong with him?

Ginny shook the thought out of her mind for now. She had to follow McGonagall's instructions, but she would keep a very close eye on his state. She opened her door to leave for dinner. "I'll be back soon," she promised.

* * *

For the next three days and nights straight, Sirius remained catatonic in the seated position on his bed. Ginny wondered if his eyes shut when she turned the lights out for the night, if he was sleeping or awake, if he had lost his mind, or even if he was fully alive again. McGonagall had made no mention of the mission to her since that first day, and she knew better than to bring it up, particularly outside the Headmistress's office.

Sitting on her own bed, reading, she wondered to herself if perhaps it was about time to bring Madam Pomfrey or McGonagall by for a re-examination, but her thoughts were interrupted by a vaguely unfamiliar, croaking voice.

"You're… you're a Weasley," Sirius said hoarsely, his voice clearly unused for quite some time. "The daughter. Was it… Jenny?"

"Ginny," she corrected automatically, then it hit her that he was now speaking, and she should be prepared to have the conversation that McGonagall mentioned to her.

His eyes narrowed. "You look older than I remember," he stated plainly.

"What_ is_ the last thing you remember?" she asked carefully.

Sirius frowned for barely a moment, then stood up abruptly. "Bellatrix!" he yelled. "Where is she?" He reached by his side, finding nothing. "Where's my wand? Where's Harry? Is he okay?"

Then, taking in his surroundings, he suddenly seemed to realize what was wrong. "This is… Hogwarts," he said, an increasing note of panic and distress in his tone. "I was in the Ministry! How did I get here?" He turned to Ginny. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Ginny tried to make use of her best calming smile and manner. She walked over to him and took his hand with both of her hers. "Sirius, I think you should sit down," she said. "I have a lot to tell you."

Sitting on his bed, she explained to the best of her abilities what had happened to him, and the outcome of the war. She went through how and why he was brought back, going over the current state of the Ministry and the Order's work to change it.

After what felt like an hour's worth of her talking, Ginny stopped, and took a breath. She wondered how he was going to react to this. Would it be too much for a person to take, would he slip back into the catatonic state he had just come out of?

"So I didn't get Bellatrix," Sirius mused. "Is she in Azkaban now, or is she dead?"

"Dead," Ginny replied plainly. "My mother killed her in battle."

"Was it Avada –?" he started to ask, but Ginny cut him off, shaking her head.

"Nope," she interrupted. "She hit her with a Stunner, but so hard that it killed her."

"Wow," he breathed. "Nice one, Molly." He seemed to withdraw into his thoughts for a moment, before speaking up again. "And where is Harry now?"

Ginny took her hands back from Sirius. "I don't know," she answered flatly.

Sirius gave her a side-long glance. "I thought you were in love with him. How come you don't know where he is?" he asked.

Hearing this caused Ginny to nearly fall backwards off the bed. Jumping up and wheeling back around to face Sirius, she asked, "How did you know that?"

Sirius smiled for the first time since he'd been brought to Ginny's room. She was surprised to see the warm expression on his face, and noticed how much younger it made him look.

"Ginny, all the members of the Order knew. It was fairly obvious," he confessed.

"Damn it! Here I was, thinking that I had been doing such a great job of hiding it back then," she complained, folding her arms against her chest.

"You weren't," he chuckled. "But really, where is Harry now? I figured you'd know, of all people."

"Well, I don't," she replied, in a manner that indicated that the subject was closed.

Sirius sighed, and changed the subject. "So if I'm to be helping the Order again, when am I getting a wand?" he asked.

Ginny's brow furrowed. "That's a very good question," she said. "I'll have to look into that with McGonagall. We still have to protect your identity, which is why we're hiding you, but I guess we could get some Polyjuice Potion whipped up for you in order to take you out for a new wand."

"That's another thing," Sirius spoke up. "So I'm in hiding again? And what, they've given me a babysitter half my age this time? Does the Order not trust me now?"

"First off, I am not a babysitter, and I'm not half your age," Ginny grumbled at him.

"How old are you?" Sirius challenged.

She straightened up. "Twenty-one," she snapped.

"Ha! _Exactly_ half my age," he answered, victoriously.

"I don't think so," she returned.

"How's that?"

"Well, you've been dead for the last six years. So you're _not_ forty-two, you're still thirty-six!" she said triumphantly, before clapping her hands over her mouth, realizing the extreme tactlessness of her remark.

His eyes widened a moment, and Ginny was worried she went way too far, until he started laughing. It was a loud, hoarse laugh, almost like a dog's bark, but it sounded friendly and cheerful and genuinely very amused. Not letting her guard all the way down, she found herself beginning to giggle with him. His laughter was contagious.

"A girl like you _would _find some sort of a silver lining to this whole thing, I suppose," Sirius finally said, laughing petering out.

Ginny sat back down on her own bed. "What is 'a girl like me' anyway?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged. "A babysitter?"

She threw a pillow in his direction. "I told you, I'm no one's babysitter. Try and think of me as your flatmate, okay? That'll be good for the both of us."

"Fine, fine," he agreed. "We're flatmates, then." He paused a moment. "Well then, flatmate, where would I be able to get something to eat? I feel as though it's been years since I've eaten."

Ginny was about to say "it has", but she noticed a glimmer in his eye, confirming that he was indeed baiting her, and she resisted.

"I'd be happy to help you out, flatmate," she answered, mimicking his playful conversational tone. She headed for the door. "Wait right here, and I'll be right back with something good. And then we can go about getting to know each other. Might make living together easier, yeah?"

Sirius grinned. "I look forward to it," he replied.

Ginny was halfway to the kitchens when it occurred to her to wonder if he was referring to looking forward to the food, or to getting to know her.


	2. Part Two: Photograph, Letters, and Grief

A/N: Wow. This was my longest hiatus to date. I swear, I am determined to finish all my WIPs. I do hope you enjoy part two of this story. This was a challenge by the exceptionally talented worldsapart, the terms of which I will list upon completion of the story, to avoid any spoilers. Reviews are how you show an author love!

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Part Two: Photograph, Letters, and Grief

Ginny had been very surprised at how well Sirius's regaining of consciousness went. She had been concerned about her ability to explain everything to him, and wanted to be able to live up to McGonagall's expectations. The following week, however, the weight of the situation and of all of the news he had been brought up to date on, seemed to hit Sirius, and did so rather hard.

When Ginny returned to her room from a staff meeting, she looked over at Sirius's bed and saw him lying flat on his back, eyes wide open with a blank expression on his face. She hurried over to his side to check on him, concerned that he had slipped back into his earlier catatonic state.

She patted his hand firmly, several times, to check for a reaction. "Sirius? Sirius? Are you awake? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm awake," he answered. A wave of relief rushed over her, but only for a moment, as he continued, "And no, I'm not okay."

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"What's wrong?" he repeated. "What isn't wrong? My bestfriend, my _only_ friend, is dead. So many members of the Order… And Remus! What am I supposed to do without him? Why am I here? Why am I back here when he isn't?"

Sirius was beginning to sound angry. Ginny had to jump backward as he very suddenly swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up.

Regaining her balance, Ginny backed up a few steps and faced Sirius.

He looked her straight in the eye. "I want you to tell me why I'm here. Why did the Order bother with me? Why change things from the way they were?"

It took her a moment to find her voice. "I don't know. They didn't tell me that," she told him, aware of the inadequacy of her answer. "But…well, you have a life now. That's something, right?"

"A _life_?" he hissed. "My _life_ is ridiculous! Meaningless! Dead for no good reason, brought back for no good reason. I. Am. Alone. This has got to be some sort of joke, or sham, or something!"

She shook her head. "It isn't a joke, and it isn't for no good reason," she tried to confirm. "I don't know what they want yet, but you know the Order doesn't do pointless things. You're here, Sirius. And it's terrible that Remus isn't, but you'll mourn, and eventually, you'll move on."

Sirius snorted at this. "How can you say that?" he asked, growling. "You can't possibly understand, so don't tell me how I will feel. You haven't gone through what I have, so you can't possibly relate to how I'm feeling!" At this, he took an angry step forward, closing the distance between them – an old instinct, intended to intimidate when facing any form of adversary.

Though it would have been natural to back away, Ginny stood her ground. "All right, maybe I don't know exactly everything you're going through," she huffed, crossing her arms defiantly, "but I lost someone during the war, too! I know you loved Lupin like a brother, but Fred _was_ my brother! I was _there_ when he died, and I couldn't do anything to stop it or save him! Can you even imagine how that feels? It still hurts, and I still miss him! But you know what? I've moved on, because I had to! I'm not telling you that it's going to happen right away, but it will. And in the meantime, mourn, rant, cry, do whatever you need to, but _DO NOT_ tell me I don't know what it feels like to lose someone!"

She braced herself for some sort of furious response after raising her voice at him, but was surprised to see Sirius seeming cowed. He suddenly couldn't quite meet her eye, and sat back down on the bed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't know your brother died."

"How could you have known? I didn't tell you," she spat out, not quite looking at him, either.

"Still, I never asked if you lost anyone. I should have. I wasn't thinking, I guess. Well, I was, but just about me. And… Remus." He turned away from her as his eyes started to glisten, and Ginny offered him some modicum of privacy by crossing to the other side of the room and sitting on her own bed.

"That's normal enough," she offered. "I told you you're going to need time to mourn. It's just how things are. But Sirius…" she paused.

"Yes?" he asked, as she remained quiet.

"Well, it's just that, well, you're not alone. It's not much, I know we barely know each other, and we're not friends yet, but given the circumstances, I hope we will be. I've been through the mourning of friends and relatives and relationships, and, well, I'm here for you if you need me to help you get through this. If you want to talk or whatever," she finished ineloquently.

"Thanks," he muttered gruffly.

"It will take a while. I know that firsthand. Even when you can function normally, it'll weigh on you for a while." She paused, thinking a moment. "And, you know, it's not as though Remus is _entirely_ gone," she added.

At these words, Sirius looked toward Ginny. "He's a ghost?" he asked, seemingly shocked. "I wouldn't have expected that of him."

"No, no, of course he's not a ghost," Ginny answered. "He and Tonks had a baby before they died. A boy. His name is Teddy. So a part of Remus is still living on."

"Remus had a son?" he breathed, completely stunned. "So where is he now?"

"His grandmother, your cousin, Andromeda, is taking care of him. And every remaining member of the Order treats him as though he's their own. You'll have never seen such a well-loved little boy. He gets absolutely spoiled rotten by everyone!" she said with a smile.

As Sirius remained quiet, overcome with the news, Ginny continued. "He's four years old now. I'll make sure you get to meet him as soon as possible. I know it will mean a lot to him that you're a part of his life."

Sirius cleared his throat. "I'd like that," he said simply. As another thought occurred to him, he added, "What's he like?"

"Teddy? Here, I'll show you," she said, crossing to her side of the room to rifle through a box containing some of her possessions. Finding what she was looking for, she returned to Sirius's side of the room.

"Last year's Christmas card from Andromeda," she explained, passing it to him. "She's really good about it, she sends them out to everyone who drops in on little Teddy."

He carefully took the card from her, and his face broke out in a wide grin as he saw the picture of the young boy playing on a toy broomstick, hair flashing from ginger to turquoise and back again.

"He takes after his mother, then? That must have been a great relief to Remus," he said hoarsely.

Ginny nodded, and started to wonder if it was best that she clear out for a little while.

"Do you need some time alone? Should I come back later?" she asked.

"No, please," replied Sirius. "Stay. I need to get used to being around people, and well… Maybe you could tell me more about Teddy?"

Ginny smiled. "Sure!" She grabbed another handful of photos from the box that had contained the Christmas card, sat down beside Sirius on his bed, and began to talk him through Teddy Lupin's childhood to date.

* * *

On a Saturday three weeks later, Ginny was called to the Entrance Hall, where she was told someone was waiting to see her. She beamed as she approached her unexpected guest.

"Ron! What are you doing here?" she said excitedly, giving her brother a hug.

"I've got some time off from the shop, and it's been a little while since we've seen each other, so I just thought I'd come by," answered Ron, hugging her back.

"It's so good to see you! What did you want to do today, then? Hang around the school, or did you want to go into Hogsmeade for the day?"

"Oh, definitely Hogsmeade," he said. "As much as I wanted to see you, loafing about my old school isn't exactly how I'd prefer to spend a weekend."

Ginny laughed. "I understand completely! Sounds like a plan."

As they walked to Hogsmeade, Ron talked animatedly, updating Ginny on all the goings-on at the Burrow and Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.

"What else has been going on? Oh yeah! I know that when you left for school, Victoire was just saying a few words, you know. Well, she's developing fast – talking a blue streak now!" said Ron, seeming to mentally be ticking off important pieces of information for Ginny.

"Really?" asked Ginny. "That's wonderful. So what's she calling Mum?"

"Gran," answered Ron. "You should have seen Mum's face first time she said it. It just made her even more anxious for Victoire to say more words. Between Mum's encouragement and all the books Percy's been reading to her whenever she's at the Burrow, it's no wonder she's got such a big vocabulary for her age."

Ginny smiled. "I can't help but wonder if George has tried to teach her a few bad words to shock Bill and Fleur with."

Ron chuckled in response. "He tried to last month, but Fleur caught him. She hexed him so hard, his remaining ear wouldn't stop twitching for a week! So I doubt he'll be doing that again any time soon."

Ginny laughed hard, and Ron joined in. It was several moments before the two were able to calm down and carry on their conversation. Their animated chatter carried them all the way to the Three Broomsticks without a break.

Finding a quiet booth in a far corner, they placed their orders for fish and chips and pints of Simison Steaming Stout, and Ron clearly his throat and starting speaking again in a low voice.

"I hear that you've been given a task," he said.

"So you're still working for the Order, too?" Ginny answered, in an equally discreet tone.

Ron nodded. "Nothing major, and I don't have much information. Just helping out with little things here and there. Doing whatever I can." He paused. "Some people are always going to have more important roles than us," he added, somewhat wistfully.

"I don't want to talk about that," Ginny said, her mouth getting small and angry.

Ron shrugged half-heartedly. "But how are things with your new flatmate?" he said, choosing his language carefully. They were both used to making important items of discussion sound far more innocuous. It made it possible to converse on Order news publicly.

"Oh, it's going okay," she answered. "Things are still a bit weird, which I guess is normal enough with any new friend. Bit emotional from time to time."

"Emotional? Really?"

"Given everything that's happened, that's to be expected, right?" she said. "She's been through an awful lot, an ordeal that none of us could even imagine." Ginny easily fell back into habits she'd learned from older members of the Order, conversing casually and swapping pronoun genders to push any potential suspicion further away from the actual subject. "Anyway, I'm just trying to do my best to make things easy for her. Even if it's not a particularly exciting task on my part."

"I know what you mean," said Ron. "Doing your best at these little jobs is all you can do in the hope that you'll eventually be trusted with something more important, right?"

"McGonagall says that every step is equally important," Ginny remembered.

"Yeah, but it doesn't feel that way to those of us who are doing the odd jobs, right? I guess some of us will never be seen as really useful, even if we've done all the same things as –" he stopped suddenly, and stared into his pint.

Inwardly, Ginny felt like sighing exasperatedly and rolling her eyes, but avoided doing so, as she didn't want to hurt her brother's feelings. She didn't like to think about Harry or Hermione either, but she knew Ron's motivations for doing so were just somehow different from hers. She had long suspected that Ron believed that one day, everything was going to go back to the way things were; Ron and Hermione back together, she and Harry a couple again, too. When she had spoken of Harry and Hermione to her friends, there had been anger, disgust, rage. But Ron didn't talk about them at all, as though acknowledging what they had done and how he felt would jinx it somehow.

As they quietly tucked into their fish and chips, Ginny thought to herself how thrilled she'd be if she could just hear Ron get properly aggro about their exes. Instead, she asked Ron questions about the shop until they were done their meal, and back at Hogwarts. He hugged her goodbye, and she returned to her room, getting straight into bed before Sirius could ask her about the visit.

* * *

Ginny stretched and yawned as she woke up the following morning.

"Hey," said Sirius, already awake. "Didn't see so much of you yesterday."

Ginny rolled over in her bed to face him. He was sitting up on his bed across the room, looking through the box of photographs that Ginny had given him. "Had a visitor," she said.

"Anyone I'd know?" he asked.

"My brother, Ron," she answered. "We went to Hogsmeade for the day. Have you had your breakfast yet?" She observed that he might not have been up for very long, as he was still clothed in the flannel pyjamas McGonagall had provided for him.

"No," he said simply, still shuffling through the pictures.

"Right, I'll get something from the house elves. I don't much feel like going down to the Great Hall today. Do you mind the company?" she asked.

"I'd prefer it," said Sirius.

Ginny grinned, and got out of bed, adjusting her own flannel nightgown as she did so. "Great! What would you like?"

"I'm not particular."

Ginny took her wand and sent a request down to the kitchens. In mere moments, a kitchen service cart containing trays of scrambled eggs, peameal bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, potato scones, beans, black pudding, and toast appeared in their room. Pitchers of orange juice and pots of tea were on a lower level of the cart along with their plates and goblets.

"Take your pick," said Ginny, loading up a plate.

"That smells amazing," Sirius said, and did the same. Hunched over his plate, he started to shovel the eggs and beans into his mouth, before looking up at Ginny and adjusting his manner of eating. "Sorry," he said. "Old habits, you know. For so long, I never really knew when I was going to get my next meal, never knew if my food was going to be taken away from me…"

Ginny shrugged. "That's understandable," she said. She had seen him forget himself occasionally in their couple of weeks together, and appear to be guarding his meal from her. This marked the first incident where he noticed it himself, and while she treated it casually to avoid making him uncomfortable, she was certain that it marked some progress on his part.

She continued to try to sneak glances at him while he tucked back into his breakfast, starting on the sausages. She was happy to see that it looked like he was starting to gain weight. The hollows of his cheeks were starting to fill in somewhat, and it was possible that his wrists were looking slightly less boney. Ginny had noticed how little he had even been able to eat at first, but by now he was able to dive into a full English breakfast. She smiled, glad to know that her task was going well, slowing helping him regain his health, as well as keeping him hidden and safe.

Sirius looked up at her. "You okay?" he asked. "Don't want your breakfast to get cold."

She nodded, starting again on her own meal before he could get self-conscious. "I was just thinking. Sorry about that, I must have distracted myself," she said, spearing a tomato on her fork.

"Thinking about what?" he asked.

"Um… just about Ron," she lied quickly. "He sounded like he's doing well. He's working at George's joke shop now, but he's mentioned wanting to train as an Auror in his letters before, so I'm hoping he'll get moving on that soon."

"Speaking of letters," said Sirius, gesturing at their window. Two barn owls with scrolls had just flown up alongside it, and started to tap on the glass.

Ginny opened the window with her wand, unwilling to step away from her delicious breakfast. The owls both dropped their scrolls beside Ginny, and flew off. She could see that one was from her mother, and the other was written in that perfectly even script she had learned to dread upon sight.

"You going to read them?" asked Sirius.

Ginny nodded. "After breakfast. Nothing looks urgent," she said. She added to herself, _'and I don't feel like ruining my appetite.'_

After finishing their fry-ups, Ginny Banished the trays and service cart back to the kitchens, and Sirius looked expectantly at her letters.

Ginny sighed. "Why do you care so much that I read my post right now?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I've been cooped up in this room for weeks now, completely starved for news or entertainment," he stated flatly. "For all I know, there could be something absolutely fascinating in those letters that you'll want to share with me."

"Fine!" Ginny exhaled in annoyance. She picked up her letters and threw herself back on her bed, her long plait flinging itself comically over her low bed frame. Opening the first scroll, she proceeded to read.

_My dear Ginny,_

_I hope you are enjoying your time at Hogwarts. It's so funny that I am still able to start my letters to you this way! I hope you know how proud of you I am. Your ambition is remarkable. I hope you don't mind, but I can't stop boasting to my friends that my daughter is the youngest professor in Hogwarts history!_

_Your father and I are well, as are your brothers. I've been spending a great deal of time with little Victoire, and your father's department has been very busy, even if the Minister does not pay it the proper respect. _

_We miss you terribly and hope that you'll be able to visit home for Christmas. I have included some photos of your niece so you can see how big she is getting!_

_All my love,_

_Mother_

"Letter from Mum," Ginny said, holding up the scroll from where she was lying.

"Anything interesting?" pried Sirius.

"Dad's busy at work, Mum's proud of me, photos of my baby niece," she answered.

Sirius paused. "Would it be rude to ask to see them?" he said. "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not normally this nosy, I'm just bored out of my mind. And I really am interested in seeing how your family is doing."

Ginny chuckled. "Not a problem," she said, scanning through the pictures herself and passing them toward Sirius. "Enjoy."

She opened the other scroll, the one she really wasn't interested in opening. Nothing surprising or mysterious this time, simply the same old platitudes, the same pleading for forgiveness and expressions of love and regret. Ginny scoffed, balled up the note, and threw it in the fireplace.

"Hey, what was that one?" Sirius asked from his bed, looking up from the photographs.

"Nothing. Just Hermione Granger," she said, giving away as little as possible by the tone of her voice.

"Isn't she a good friend of Harry? Was there anything about him in there?" he asked, standing up.

Ginny turned her head away from Sirius, wincing at her ex's name. "A bit," she answered truthfully.

"Anything for me? Does he have a message, or will he come to visit?" Sirius questioned eagerly.

Ginny suppressed a frustrated sigh. "I'm afraid not," she said, as casually as possible. When she heard no reply from Sirius, who had been chatty enough a moment earlier, she turned toward him again, finding him standing in the same spot, eyes now glazed over, hands forming tight fists, and his mouth a hard, angry line.

She sat up on her bed. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"It has been over a month now," he said slowly and deliberately. "Over a month. I have come back from the dead, have been alive again for over a month, and the only person who I've seen or heard anything from is the person who's been forced to live with me. Nobody cares."

"That's just not true," said Ginny. "You know that's not true. They wouldn't have rescued you otherwise."

"So they rescue me, and ignore me?" Sirius asked. "That letter was from one of the two people to bring me back from the dead! And not a word to me!"

"They can hardly start writing you letters by owl post when the whole wizarding world is still out looking for you," said Ginny. "You can't take it personally."

"There are other ways! They know I'm staying with you. Something could have been written for me in those letters to you. Someone could come to visit you and stop over to see me at the same time."

"Well, I don't know…" mumbled Ginny, trying to come up with something tactful to say. "It's not as thought you've ever been highly close with Hermione, right?"

"What about anyone from the Order? Someone who could give me a clue about what I'm here for, or show a little solidarity!" he asked, tone gradually getting angrier and angrier. "What about Harry? What about my very own godson? He can't be bothered to see me! I told you I was completely alone! I told you this whole thing was pointless!" He was almost shouting.

Ginny jumped up off her bed, coming face to face with Sirius. "It's nothing to do with you," she said sternly.

"How can it not be?" he asked. "Why wouldn't Harry want to see me, or speak to me?"

"He does! I'm sure he does," she insisted.

"Then why hasn't he come 'round?" he growled.

"Because he doesn't want to see me!" she shouted back.

Taken aback, Sirius stepped a bit back from Ginny, who had gotten right in his face with this last exclamation. She sat down on her bed and looked away from him again.

"It's not you he doesn't want to see. It's me," she repeated.

Sirius put his hand through his hair. "And why doesn't he want to see you? Why would these living arrangements mean my godson doesn't visit?" he asked, his voice now lower than before.

Ginny's hands twisted in her lap. "You weren't around after the war. You don't know what he was like. He didn't know how to deal with a quiet life right away. He spent all his time with Ron and Hermione. I mean, he always did before, but it became _all _his time. I couldn't be alone with him anymore. He said nobody else understood what he'd gone through." She paused for a moment and cleared her throat. "Then Ron needed to help George with the store, so it was just Harry and Hermione. They started Auror training together. Moved into this big flat. Ron was going to join them when he started his training, but while George needed him, he lived with him above the shop."

She chanced a quick glance up at Sirius. He wasn't quite looking at her, but he had stepped a little closer to her side of the room. She tried to gulp hard to force away the prickling of tears that were beginning to form, but she had a feeling she could only hold them off for so long.

"Then… then they went to Australia," Ginny started again. "They had a break in training, and Hermione wanted to find her parents. She sent them there during the war to keep them safe. I don't know the details of what happened in Australia… I don't suppose I'll ever _want_ to know… But when they came back, they moved into the same room in that flat." Her hands stopped twisting and became tight fists as the tears finally began to flow.

"Ah," was all Sirius could come up with, as he sat down on the bed a couple feet from her. He extended an arm in her direction and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "Look, we can stop talking about this if you want."

"No, I don't want to stop talking about this!" sobbed Ginny, turning to face him. "I've _never_ talked about this! I've just coped. I've just dealt with it on my own and tried to move on and just didn't want to talk about it with anyone! Who could I talk about it with anyway? Mum? Not exactly the sympathetic ear I'd be looking for. Ron? He was even more broken up than me! He won't go to Auror training, won't move out of the shop, just waits for things to go back to the way they were! Any other friends I have still practically worship Harry!" She took a deep breath, and continued. "Hermione keeps sending me these stupid letters trying to reach out to me, but I just can't respond. I can't! I've had _no one_ to talk to about this! Even you are his godfather, so you'll take his side, too!"

"Hey, I never said I'd do that," Sirius said softly. "I may have been close with him, but it's not like I'd believe him to be infallible."

Ginny sniffed. "You don't?"

"Of course not," he said. "He definitely didn't treat you right. I still love him, but I'm not going to deny your right to be hurt."

She wiped her eyes briefly before a fresh onslaught of tears overtook her. Throwing her arms around Sirius, she sobbed into his jumper. He uncomfortably patted Ginny on the back until her sobs came to a halt. She looked up slowly.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked. "Goading you into bringing up a painful story and making you cry?"

Ginny managed to giggle and sniffle a bit at the same time. She Summoned a tissue and blew her nose. "No, for helping me talk about this. For _letting_ me talk about this. I don't know, I've been feeling like I had been forcing myself to move forward with my life, but I never… I never got _this_ out of the way. The grief or the hurt or whatever. I'm still angry with them, but it feels really good to have that out of my system. Like it's been waiting to come out for the last couple years." She dabbed her eyes once more. "So thank you," she finished, standing up.

Following her movements, Sirius stood up with her, and gave her one more awkward pat on the shoulder. "Uh, anytime," he said.

Ginny laughed. "Oh, come here!" she said, holding out her arms for a proper hug.

Sirius rolled his eyes but grinned, and stepped into Ginny's hug. She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, but his head turned in a way she wasn't expecting, and ended up giving him a quick peck on the lips. They almost instantly broke apart, both of their faces burning a deep red.

They both looked down, becoming all the more aware that they were still in their pyjamas. Sirius wordlessly walked back over to his own side of their room.

Ginny frowned a moment, thinking to herself. "Wait a second, Sirius," she said, and crossed the room to face him.

"What?" he muttered, unable to look her in the eye.

She forced her way into his field of vision, and he turned redder still. "Nothing," she said. "Well, just this." She leaned up and pressed her lips against his, deliberately this time.


End file.
